Cigarette turn around device



March 22, 1960 c. E. PARRISH 2,929,489

CIGARETTE TURN AROUND DEVICE Filed May 4, 195e INVENTOR 3 I BLARI'INCE E. PARRISH ATTORNEY United States Pater O 1 2,929,489' CIGARETTE TURN AROUND DEVICE Clarence E. Parrish, Raleigh, N.C., assigner to American Machine & Foundry Company, a corporation of New Jersey Applicaticn May 4, 1956, Serial No. 582,7 37

1 Claim. (Cl. 19833) This invention relates to cigarette making and more particularly to a device and method for turning tipped cigarettes received by a collector end-for-end in a cigarette machine to thereby cause the tip end of all cigarettes to face in the same direction.

In the process of manufacturing tipped cigarettes (ie. mouthpiece, cork tipped, or iilter tipped cigarettes) the topped cigarette lengths are discharged in two rows onto a collecting belt with the tip ends of the cigarettes in each row facing in opposite directions. The cigarettes in one row then have to be turned so that the tip ends of these cigarettes will face in the same direction as the tip ends of the cigarettes of the other row, before the tip cigarettes are transferred in suitable containers to a cigarette packaging machine. v

Various mechanical devices have been devised for turning cigarettes end-for-end. Some of these devices have been found expensive to construct while others handle the cigarettes so roughly that the cigarettes have undesirable indentations formed thereon by the turning device.

It is an object of this invention to provide a simple device which will turn the tipped cigarettes in one row end-for-end so that the tipped cigarettes will face in an opposite direction after being turned.

A further object of this invention is to provide a cigarette turning device which will have no impacting elements engaging the body of the cigarette which will have any deleterious effect on the cigarette.

A further object of this invention is to provide a pair of twisted belts which will receive and turn the cigarettes in a row end-for-end while allowing the cigarettes to travel transversely in row formation.

A further object is to provide a simple and reliable device for turning tipped cigarettes so that the tip ends will be facing in the direction desired.

Other objects and features of the invention will appear as the description of the particular physical embodiment selected to illustrate the invention progresses. In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, like characters of reference have been applied to corresponding parts throughout the several views which make up the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the cigarette turning apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the cigarette turning apparatus.

Fig. 3 is an end view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

My apparatus is particularly well suited for use with a cigarette machine making tipped cigarettes (i.e. cork tipped, lter tipped, or mouthpiece cigarettes) wherein the cut, tipped cigarette lengths are discharged laterally in the manner shown in co-pending application Serial No. 509,292 filed by George Dearsley on May 18, 1955, and in United States Reissue Patent 19,375 granted November 20, 1934, to W. B. Bronander.

In the apparatus employed to illustrate the invention, I have shown how the cigarettes are discharged in pairs from a uted drum 10, such as that shown in co-pending application Serial No. 509,293 referred to above, wherein the tipped ends of the cigarettes in each row face in opposite directions. This severing operation of dividing a double length cigarette into two equal lengths is accomplished by knife 11 which is fully described in copending application Serial No. 509,293.

'Ihe cigarettes so discharged roll down an inclined Patented Mar. 22, 1960 chute 12. The cigarettes on one side are delivered by the chute 12 onto a suitable collecting belt 14, while the cigarettes on the other side ofthe chute 12 are delivered in between a pair of spaced, twisted belts 16 and 1S.

The belt 16 travels over pulleys 20 and 22 while belt 18 travels over pulleys 24 and 26. Since the manner of mounting pulleys on shafts is well known in the art, no reference has been made to their respective shafts. The pulleys 26 and 22 are driven in timed relationship with each other by suitable means, such as a sprocket and sprocket chains (not shown) from a suitable drive such as chain 28.

Due lto the twisted arrangement of the belts 16 and 18, the cigarettes received between the belts are turned degrees by the time they reach the discharge end 30, where the cigarettes are delivered transversely in row formation into a suitable discharge chute 32 where they slide downwardly onto a suitable collecting belt 34. If desired, suitable belt guides can be employed to prevent the belts from moving axially along their respective pulleys. The cigarettes from belt 14 are similarly delivered to a parallel belt 34'. The parallel belts 34, 34 form a cigarette collecting station.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the cigarettes never undergo any sudden acceleration or deceleration but are handled gently and are gradually twisted in a spiral between a pair of kyieldable belts 180 degrees so as to cause all of the tip ends to face in the same direction as the cigarettes collected on belt 14 when delivered from between the belts 16 and 18. The cigarettes are then picked up by an operator from belts 34 and 34' who places them in a suitable collecting tray (not shown) with the tip ends all facing in the same direction.

It will be understood that my invention deals with turning cigarettes end-for-end, and it makes no dilference to the functioning of any apparatus whether the tip ends face each other in adjoining rows or whether the tip ends face outwardly in each row. The important factor is that the cigarettes of one row are turned end-for-end as they travel along with a collecting belt.

The invention hereinabove described may be varied in construction within the scope of the claim, for the particular device selected to illustrate the invention is but one of many possible embodiments of the same. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted to the precise details of the structure shown and described.

What is claimed is:

In a cigarette making machine wherein tipped cigarettes are delivered from a source of supply at one end of said machine in two rows with the tipped ends of the cigarettes facing in opposite directions, said machine being provided with a collecting station at its other end, in combination, a first endless collecting belt extending from the source of supply to the collecting station for receiving one row of cigarettes having their tipped ends facing in a predetermined direction, a pair of endless twisted belts having cooperating 180 degree twisted portions for receiving and turning the cigarettes of the other row with their tipped ends facing in the direction in which the tipped ends of the one row are facing, said pair of twisted belts beingglocated between the source of supply and the collecting station, said collecting station comprising parallel collecting belts extending from the delivery end of said pair of twisted belts and said lirst collecting belt.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 313,064 Eddy et al. Mar. 3, 1885 1,719,175 Finn July 2, 1929 1,824,413 Stein Sept. 22, 1931 2,509,752 Wheeley May 30, 1950 

